About the European Dairy Industry - General overview

The European dairy industry is transforming yearly 135* billion litres of raw milk into a broad range of products, both for consumption and for application in the production of many food, feed and pharma products.

Realising reasonable prices for the raw milk delivered by ca. 1 mln** farms, the dairy industry is essential for the preservation and development of socio-economic structures in rural areas. The dairy industry represents ca. 13% of the turnover for the total food and drink industry in Europe; it employs ca. 10% of people working in the European food and drink industry.

The various dairy products produced by the European dairy industry, such as liquid milk, cheese, fresh dairy products and butter, are an essential and functional contribution to the diet of all consumers in Europe. In other words, the dairy industry is one of the industry sectors that is of main importance for a healthy development of Europe.

*source: ZMP, 2009 figures
** 2008